T' Neubauer Rockets Mercury Redstone is a sport scale model o' t' famous rocket that launched Alan Shepherd and Gus Grissom in a Sub-orbital ballistic path into space and then t' Atlantic Ocean from Cape Canaveral. Aye aye! T' completed kit stands 9.75" tall, weighs 1.5 oz. and is approx 1/100 scale.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

T' Mercury Redstone kit comes in t' familiar plastic bag. T' cover art has a slightly blurry picture o' the Redstone launching, ya bilge rat, with all o' t' pertinent data for t' kit. I mail ordered the kit from Discount Rocketry, t' only place that carries t' kits, for $17.

T' package arrived with t' kit fully intact, me hearties, all parts in t' kit and nothin' broken. T' kit consists o' a standard friction motor mount and body tube, ya bilge rat, but that is where t' familiarity ends, ya bilge rat, me bucko, me bucko, it also includes a cast resin nose cone with a clear Lucite rod already attached, me hearties, ya bilge rat, along with a bag o' parts to complete t' escape tower, shiver me timbers, which include, ya bilge rat, toothpicks, me hearties, shiver me timbers, a small dowel and printed cardstock for t' tower lattice work.

T' kit also includes a pre-printed self adhesive body wrap, me hearties, and a real neat clear launch lug (be careful nay t' lose it!). Ahoy! Blimey!

T' instructions are printed on two 8.5x11 pieces o' paper. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! One outlines the steps t' assemble t' rocket and t' other shows t' paintin' instructions as well as t' standard flight prep instructions. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Each step is illustrated with a simple drawing, arrr, and indicates what type o' glue t' use in that step. Avast! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' steps are short, me bucko, clear and concise, and expect previous experience in building. There are two supplemental instructions, me hearties, ya bilge rat, one that recommends sandin' t' base o' the nose cone for fit, me hearties, and t' other for assembly o' t' parachute. T' order of steps fairly logical, but I would delay t' attachment o' t' shock cord mount until t' last possible moment as it always gets in me way in t' following steps. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

This is nay your easy rocket build. Ahoy! Begad! It takes time, patience, matey, ya bilge rat, and some modelin' know how. I would rate it as a skill level 4 at least. Blimey! Begad! Buildin' the rocket is nay easy, matey, but straightforward. Ahoy!

However thar were several gotcha's that I found. First, t' shock cord should nay be assembled so early in t' process, it only gets in t' way. Wait until after t' capsule is ready for that step. Ahoy! Begad! T' capsule base requires some sandin' for a good fit, and that is a time consumin' process, matey, me hearties, but I would rather sand t' fit, than add tape for a fit. Aye aye! Arrr! T' tower cross struts are too wide for t' top o' t' tower as they are printed, arrr, arrr, so you will want t' trim them down, do this after you attach them t' t' tower, as t' assembly is quite strong. Aye aye! Extra struts are printed, matey, me bucko, so you can remove one and try again, I had to. Begad!

T' escape rocket motors are made from pieces o' a small dowel "turned" into cones by sharpenin' them in a pencil sharpener, arrr, shiver me timbers, an interestin' method. Ahoy! T' body wrap has a dotted outline t' cut on, arrr, arrr, me bucko, this outline is way too big for t' rocket. Well, blow me down! I cut mine square with a sharp hobby knife and a straight edge, and guessed at where t' cut t' top off. I ended up cuttin' the top just above t' third row o' black squares. Arrr! Followin' this, draw a straight line down t' body tube for alignment when you attach t' wrap, otherwise you might get it skewed. Begad! T' alignment line is nay mentioned in t' instructions, ya bilge rat, I feel this is an oversight due t' t' critical nature o' this step. Well, arrr, blow me down!

Once t' wrap was on I found that t' body tube was 1/16" too long for the wrap (better too long than too short) so I cut t' body tube t' length, another reason t' wait on attachin' t' shock cord.

T' next step it t' attach t' plastic fins with epoxy t' t' body wrap. Ahoy! I was slightly afraid o' t' sturdiness o' this arrangement so I cut slots in the wrap t' glue t' fins t' t' body tube, arrr, this was probably overkill, but I feel better. Aye aye! T' launch lug was then attached t' t' rocket, I attached it t' the seam in t' body wrap, t' hide both at t' same time.

T' rest o' t' rocket is easy, ya bilge rat, and consists o' buildin' and attachin' the parachute and shock cord. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! One note here, ya bilge rat, drill a small hole in t' nose cone for t' screw eye, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, arrr, t' nose cone is way too hard t' thread it in by itself. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Blimey! The completed rocket looks fragile with t' lattice work on t' escape tower but is surprisingly strong. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! This is due t' t' clear Lucite rod that supports the assembly. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Blimey! O' t' two launches and handlin' so far, nothin' has broken. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey!

In buildin' t' kit I used two types o' epoxy, matey, white for t' fin attach, me hearties, and clear for t' launch lug attach, white glue for t' motor mount assembly and shock cord attachment, arrr, arrr, and CA and epoxy for t' tower assembly. Aye aye! Begad! I also used a small drill for t' hole in t' nose cone for t' screw eye. Aye aye!

T' main finishin' requirement o' this rocket is attachin' t' body wrap. Once t' rocket is complete, me hearties, t' roll pattern needs t' be painted on t' fins and t' capsule needs t' be painted. Aye aye! Begad!

T' tower is particularly difficult t' paint without gettin' any color on the Lucite rod. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I used a small brush and be very careful nay t' paint t' rod. There are no decals, as all t' detail is on t' body wrap. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Blimey! A couple o' details for t' capsule would be nice, but it is very small and t' details would be even smaller, me hearties, tweezer size for sure.

T' result is a credible scale model o' t' rocket, matey, that for it's small size is a good representation o' t' Mercury Redstone rocket. Ahoy!

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

T' recovery system consists o' an elastic shock cord attached t' t' body tube with a paper mount, shiver me timbers, and t' t' nose cone with a screw eye. Avast! T' parachute is an octagonal 8" design made o' a textured plastic. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! It is different from the flat plastic variety, me hearties, and seems t' open easily and nay t' weld itself shut. I still need t' see how it behaves in t' cold, but it seems more flexible than an Estes chute. Well, blow me down!

Preparation o' t' rocket is simple, friction fit t' motor and pack the parachute with waddin' and you are ready t' fly. Ya scallywag! Begad!

T' only motor that is recommended be t' A10-3T. Begad! Arrr! On me first flight I goofed and used an A3-4T motor. Once t' rocket cleared t' launch rod, it tilted with t' wind, ya bilge rat, then into t' wind, arrr, me bucko, me bucko, then stabilized t' ejection. Begad! The 8" parachute was a perfect match for t' rocket, me bucko, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, lowerin' it slowly and safely. Ya scallywag!

My next flight used t' recommended A10-3T motor. Avast! Blimey! (It pays t' read the instructions.) This flight went almost 100 feet in t' air and performed a loop, matey, nay what I expected. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' parachute be deployed at a heart stoppin' 30 feet off t' ground, me hearties, and t' rocket was returned safely.

At this point I am nay sure what is wrong, are t' fins too small, or is thar nay enough weight in t' nose, shiver me timbers, arrr, or be t' motor nozzle clogged? I really don't want t' launch this little beauty again and risk turnin' it into a lawn dart. Well, blow me down!

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5

Everythin' Considered this is a sharp rocket. Well, blow me down! It replicates t' look o' the Mercury Redstone vehicle very well, shiver me timbers, me bucko, me hearties, and as a side benefit, it is 1/100 scale, the same as t' Estes Saturn 5 kit.

It would be a great display model next t' t' Saturn! T' instructions leave somethin' t' be desired, arrr, but if you are ready for a challenge, and tired o' the shake t' bag kits, matey, this would be a good rocket for you t' build. I am more concerned with t' flight stability. Blimey! This could be caused by several things on my part, includin' a bad motor.

My points o' concern are that t' launch lug is longer than t' fins and almost sticks out as far, and t' fins are small. Arrr! T' capsule is heavy enough to place t' CG forward t' where I would think it would be stable, but the launches showed somethin' different. As a result I still am nay certain o' its stability, arrr, but it is a great lookin' rocket that has survived two launches well.

T' followin' excerpt is from "Sport Rocketry". Begad! Arrr! T' intention is t' allow guests t' get a basic feelin' about a kit. Begad! We strongly suggest that you get a copy o' the referenced Sport Rocketry and read t' entire article. Arrr! Inside you will find many helpful hints in construction as well as other useful information. Ya scallywag! Arrr! For more information, me hearties, me hearties, me bucko, use t' two links above.

"T' 1/100 scale Mercury Redstone from Boyce Aerospace is a beautiful little sport scale model." 
"T' Mercury capsule nose cone is molded from solid plastic with a clear rod protrudin' from t' tip." 
"T' body is covered with a self-adhesive, full body wrap decal printed in black and red." 
"T' A10-3T be t' only suggested motor for t' kit, which boosts t' 18.5 gram model t' approximately 450 feet. Arrr! Blimey! My test flight was perfectly stable despite t' tiny fins." 
"T' only part o' t' kit that disappointed me was t' recovery system." 
"T' thin' I like best about t' Mercury Redstone is how it looks . Ya scallywag! . ." 

T' entire article gives t' impression is that this is a nice kit for an intermediate modeler.